Smith's Verdict

Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2

Reviewed by Tanner Smith

Imagine an era without texting, email, or even the Internet. If you wanted to talk to a girl or ask her out, you had to call her house and ask a parent if she was home. If for some reason you wanted to talk to someone from a different country, you had to send that person a letter and hope that person responds the next day or two, so you can continue the conversation.

As the 30-minute film “December 1982” opens, in August 1981, high-school student Tim (Haulston Mann) is given an assignment to write and send a letter to a student in Beirut. Tim would rather focus on his photography than write a letter to someone he doesn’t know. But then he gets the idea to take a picture of a move on a chessboard in his bedroom, and decides to send that to the student, along with the message, “Want to play?” In Beirut, Yara Hajjar (Ashli Brown) receives this, and responds by sending a picture of a counter-move on her own chessboard.

Months pass, and Tim and Yara’s pen-pal relationship continues. Tim has graduated from high school and is trying to decide what to do with his future. He wants to attend a Chicago university for his photography, but is faced with the difficulties of leaving his hometown friends and knowing that his parents would have to pay a lot to send Tim to college hundreds of miles away. But as Tim faces his own future, Yara and her family find themselves in the midst of something more terrifying, as Israeli military forces invade their country and a war brews outside their home.

This pen-pal relationship that forms between Tim (in Central Arkansas) and Yara (in Beirut) is quite interesting, especially how similar interests, such as chess and photography, keeps them talking to each other. Sometimes one has to wait a couple days for the next letter from the other, but when that letter comes, it leaves them with happiness even when one of them should feel miserable. This is especially effective in the scenes that feature Yara in a time when the world around her becomes a nightmare because of the war—when everything outside her family’s apartment building becomes a living hell, what gives Yara a moment of joy is the next letter from Tim.

“December 1982,” written and directed by Lyle Arnett, Jr. (as his thesis film for the University of Central Arkansas Digital Filmmaking Master of Fine Arts Program), is a small gem. It’s a touching, well-made, effective story of how these two young people draw closer to each other, despite being different parts of the world.

I also admired how the film told its subplot involving the 1982 Lebanon War. It mostly uses sound effects in the Beirut scenes, and that actually works in the film’s favor. There are two particularly-powerful scenes that focus on characters’ reactions. One features the first explosion heard, as Yara is enjoying a sunset at the beach, looking at one of Tim’s pictures that he sent, when suddenly there’s an explosion in the distance as she turns around in fright.

The second particularly-powerful scene features Yara having dinner with her brother and widowed mother. It’s a quiet moment until the sounds of muffled explosions that suddenly turns more dangerous when they seem too close. This is arguably the best scene in the film—the reactions seem surprisingly genuine.

But most of the film focuses more on Tim’s story as he realizes his potential, realizes his friends aren’t the best crowd to be around, and explores Chicago to see what living there would be like. (Also, the scenes set in Tim’s family’s house show (actual) TV news footage on the living-room TV set to show/tell more about the war, and the raid in Beirut, which is admittedly a clever move.) Now, you could argue that maybe Tim’s story is less interesting than Yara’s. Of the two, the latter has the least amount of screen time. And I’m not going to lie—I kind of wished I had seen more of how Yara and her family react to their situation. But to be honest, Tim’s side is still handled well and besides, maybe less is more.

The ending left me with kind of a mixed feeling. On the one hand, it is a satisfying conclusion that did make me smile (and it left a satisfying impression on the audience I saw this film with, as well). But on the other hand, it left me with a question of how it came to this. Even though most audience members of the screening probably expected it, and they were pleased to see this resolution, I was a bit confused as to how exactly it came to be. Without giving too much away, this feeling had to do with how little was shown of Yara’s story.

But for the most part, “December 1982” is an impressive, well-put-together short film. It’s intelligent in its writing and directing, as Arnett, Jr. delivers admirable work as a filmmaker; the actors (including Mandy Fason and Kenn Woodard in brief but pivotal roles as Tim’s parents) are convincing, especially Ashli Brown in a role that requires a gambit of emotions; the central setup is fascinating as you consider the true sentiment that comes with handwritten letters after a while; the drama is credibly handled; and the film itself is a true delight.

NOTE: The film can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/62781258

Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2

Reviewed by Tanner Smith

“I’ve never really wondered what it would be to lose part of myself. To not feel like a whole person again. Losing someone I love is one thing…but to go on living while part of me dies…” That inner thought that opens the short film “A Wheel & the Moon” says a lot. What if you knew for sure that you were going to lose your vision? What would you feel? What would you do?

Adapted from Jonathan Carroll’s short story, “A Wheel in the Desert, the Moon on some Swings,” and made as a graduate thesis film for University of Central Arkansas’ Digital Filmmaking Master-of-Fine-Arts Program, Chris Paradis’ “A Wheel & the Moon” is about a young man named Norman, who learns he is indeed going blind and tries to imagine his life without eyesight. He finds himself wandering his hometown, hoping to find some way to find something positive about this. The best he can come up with is to buy a camera and take as many pictures as he can that capture the world around him.

“A Wheel & the Moon” effectively tells an interesting tale of how Norman (Justin Pike in an effective low-key performance) continues to try and find the optimistic side to what he fears will come. The people he encounters along the way are interesting and surprisingly, given their short amount of screen time (for a film that is about 20 minutes in running time), have distinct personalities. In particular, there’s a homeless man (Tucker Steinmetz) who claims to be blind and tells Norman what he misses most about not seeing (fried chicken); Norman’s caring sister (Sarah Holderfield); and a makeup artist (Angy Champine) who manages to give Norman a good idea of what he’ll look like “in 50 years”; among others. These are all appealing characters that our protagonist encounters on his personal journey that ultimately results in him finding himself.

The only thing I didn’t particularly like about “A Wheel & the Moon,” which is otherwise a competently-made film that works as slice-of-life and an effective, non-manipulative feel-good drama, was the ending. I can tell there’s a heartwarming message to be said about enjoying the oddness and beauty of life, but it was kind of hard to take it in because it feels somewhat rushed. Although to be fair, I should note that the sequence that comes before that final bit did an effective job at delivering the necessary emotional drive by itself.

“A Wheel & the Moon” is an effective short drama. It actually kind of reminded me of UCA alum Sarah Jones’ MFA film last year, “John Wayne’s Bed,” in that each short film treated its story and its audience with enough regard that it didn’t have to succumb to melodramatic formulas just to make us care—it just efficiently told the story. “A Wheel & the Moon” is moving, and it’s well-done, and it works.

SIDE-NOTE: I love this line about the fried chicken, said in an earlier scene in which Norman encounters the blind homeless man—“Fried chicken is three things—smell, taste, and sight…You gotta see it to really eat it.” KFC would probably kill for that slogan.

Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2

Reviewed by Tanner Smith

One of the films I looked forward to seeing at the 5^th Annual Little Rock Film Festival in early June 2011 was “Cotton County Boys,” Collin Buchanan’s senior thesis film for the UCA (University of Central Arkansas) Filmmaking Program. What drew my attention to it was its clever, 70s-retro-style 3-minute trailer and its cast, which included Levi Agee (film columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette), Lynnsee Provence (actor in “Shotgun Stories”), and Natalie Canerday (the mother from “Sling Blade”).

So on June 5^th, 2011 in Little Rock, I saw “Cotton County Boys” (which is 30 minutes long) when it was screened with five other short comedies made in Arkansas. I was hoping to like it…and fortunately I did. This is an enjoyable short comedy with a lot of laughs and many moments when I had a smile on my face. It also has a heart—the film fit right into its LRFF category title, which was “Hijinks and Heart.”

The titular Cotton County Boys are three dim-witted but well-meaning Southern brothers who still live with their mother and spend most of their time messing around and shooting each other with 4^th-of-July rockets. That’s actually how the movie opens—one of the brothers smells the morning air in a brief tender moment right before the others playfully shoot fireworks at him.

The conflict of the story is that the Cotton family needs to come up with $12,000 to save the family house from foreclosure (it was originally $11,000 until one of the brothers broke the process server’s car’s back window). So the brothers—Bobby (Terrell Case), Bo (Levi Agee, who also co-produced this film and is credited here as “Reuben Agee”), and Sammy (Lynnsee Provence) Cotton—decide to go job-hunting. Bobby finds a job at a fast-food restaurant, where he develops a crush on the attractive co-worker Hattie (Kelsie Louise Craig), and Bo and Sammy find a job painting birdhouses. (This is shown in a montage, which features cameos by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette film critic Philip Martin and Candyce Hinkle, who played the landlady in “True Grit.”) Soon enough, though, they get the idea to win the money by making their own funny home videos and sending them into their mother’s favorite TV show, which can be seen as a clone of “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

This results in multiple shots to the crotch and other injuries. Now, as tired as I am of the comedic “shots to the crotch” cliché, it works here because a) they’re still funny here and b) they help serve the story. The sequences in which the boys film their own stunts using the family video camera are amusing, fun to watch, and actually about something. This could have been a formulaic romp about cardboard characters who simply run around nearly getting themselves killed. But no—director Collin Buchanan is very careful in making us empathize with the characters. They’re not completely idiotic—in fact, Bobby, Bo, and Sammy are smart in their own way. And everything they do is for the family. This is where part of the film’s heart comes into place. There are also some brief awkwardly-funny but somewhat-sweet moments between Bobby and Hattie, although their relationship could have gotten a little further before the emotional payoff at the end. Actually, this is what cost the film half-a-star. Maybe if the film were a little longer so it could have a few more moments with Bobby and Hattie, this would have gotten four stars instead of three-and-a-half.

But the true heart of “Cotton County Boys” lies within the relationship of the Cotton family. Terrell Case, Levi Agee, and Lynnsee Provence give good performances as these likable characters and have a nice rapport with each other, as well as with Natalie Canerday, who plays their mother. They add to the humor and heart of this endearing short film. But wait! What review of a movie with ridiculous stunts could resist the joke, “Don’t try this at home?”

Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2

Reviewed by Tanner Smith

The Conversation features the chronicles of a blind hit man, although he constantly reminds the reporter that’s interviewing him that he’s not “blind,” but “visually impaired.” And yes, it turns out there is a difference. The hit man — Trench (well-played by Chad Bradford) — explains it to the reporter (Paige Reynolds, whose overly polite manner in this film makes me wonder if she can play a psychopath) in honest terms, and that most people don’t know it. They either say to him, “Oh you’re blind — let me help you” or “You can see — get it yourself.”

The Conversation tells Trench’s story in just ten minutes and it’s a nicely-done dark comedy about the ups and downs of being visually-impaired and a mercenary. Flashbacks are shown as a way of answering the reporter’s questions. Does he use his disability as an advantage? How do his relationships work out? What are his thoughts on the blind and music? Where does he have the most problems dealing with people? Does he hire a driver to drive him to his hits? Do people pick on him?

All of these questions are answered in a very funny way, with fresh writing displayed here. My favorite is how he responds to the question of where he has the most trouble—“Restaurants.” I wouldn’t dare give away how he reads the food menu. These jokes make you laugh, but they also make you think. Just about every question that’s answered in this movie—broadly or subtly—serves as credible accuracy.

The Conversation was written and directed by Leon Tidwell, who himself is visually impaired. My guess is he wanted to show that “blind” and “visually impaired” are totally different. In an interview with Arkansas Democrat-Gazette film columnist Levi Agee, he claims that the inspiration for The Conversation was his own experiences. He’s not a hit man, but he did have frustrations in finding work because of his disability—it comes across through the character of Trench in this film. The Conversation is a terrific short film (at ten minutes, it’s not too fast or too slow; it’s just right); I look forward to Leon Tidwell’s further work.

NOTE: The interview with Leon Tidwell by Levi Agee can be found here